Threats to the Open Net: December 2, 2011

By: Qichen Zhang on 2 December 2011
Posted in Threats to the Open Net

Every week, the OpenNet Initiative provides a weekly news roundup (dubbed "Threats to the Open Net") in addition to our usual in-depth blog posts. If you would like to subscribe to the RSS feed for our newsreel, our entire blog, or our weekly roundup, you may do so; you are also free to republish the feed on your own site, with attribution to the OpenNet Initiative.

  • The Thai government implements stricter regulatory measures on Facebook users who share or like content that casts the Thai monarchy in a negative light on the site. Under lese-majeste laws, offenders could face jail time anywhere from three to 15 years.
  • Technorati reports that Google is increasingly complying with takedown requests. According to a recent report, the company has taken down content in response to approximately two thirds of requests, a significant increase from the last reporting period's 40% compliance rate.
  • The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority denies ordering mobile carriers to ban approximately 1,700 banned words from text messages sent in the country. Ever since Pakistani citizens began openly mocking the proposed ban via social media channels, including Twitter, Pakistani officials have been trying to downplay the release of the list, which contains both English and Urdu words.
  • The movie industry and technology giants begin attempting to resolve some of the language in the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act. The New York Times reports that the Motion Picture Association of America is working with both parties in Congress to address some of the concerns raised by Yahoo, Google, and other Internet companies.